Like David

Like David Interview

July 20, 2001

This interview was conducted at Dave Paul's house the night of a SLTL/Like David/Eephus show that was at a bar that looked like a barn. Like David is a Christian band and they are on Betty Rocket Records. Enjoy!

Cynthia: What are your names and what do you play?

Steven: My name's Steven, I play drums.

Mark: My name's Mark Haley and I play dru....(laughter) I sing and I play guitar.

Justin: My name's Justin Thomas and I play the bass guitar.

Ryan: My name's Ryan Rabacca and I play guitar.

Mark: But you're Indian.

Justin: He's American Indian.

Ryan: And you're short.

Cynthia: How long have you guys been around?

Mark: Two years this August.

Cynthia: How'd you guys get started?

Mark: My cousin Steven here on drums, we just started jamming all the time and we jammed for a really long time doing that thing, then finally we got like five songs together and we found a bass player at our church and we hooked up with him and we played our first show.....I forgot, August 6th?.....with uh, our favorite band, Will Haven and a band called Shorties, and that was our first show and since then, we've had member changes but, thats how it started, just me and him.

Cynthia: Where are you guys from?

Mark: Stockton, CA.

Cynthia: Describe your sound for people who haven't heard you guys.

(laughter)

Mark: I'll do it.

Ryan: Need someone to hold the chalk board?

(laughter)

Mark: We call it new wave metal. We're trying to carve our own genre. Basically, its thick and heavy, really heavy, but its with singing. It has melodic harmonies and stuff, but then they'll turn around and scream at you so it has a lot of the Sacremento sound like Deftones and Will Haven. Its thick and heavy, kinda dark at times, but we sing quite a bit though. We don't resort to screaming all the time.

Cynthia: How did you guys come up with your band name?

Mark: My mom was praying for me all the time. She prayed that I would be like David when I played. And that's how I got it.

Cynthia: What are your musical influences?

Ryan: I like Incubus, Alien Ant Farm, Deftones......if I think of anymore, I'll tell you.

Justin: I don't really have a lot of influences. I like 90 Pound Wuss because they didn't really just play the bass. They used it as a lead instrument sometimes and I really like that stuff.

Mark: Mainly Sacremento stuff like the Deftones, Will Haven, stuff I've grown up with, Sepultara, some Korn stuff, Alien Ant Farm.

Steve: I am mainly influenced by the Deftones.

Cynthia: What CD is in your CD player right now?

Mark: Keith Green.

Cynthia: What is the best band you ever toured with?

In Unison: Anguish Unsaid.

Cynthia: So you guys have a CD out?

Mark: We have two out actually. We just came out with a new one. Its called "It Started With Twelve". It talks about how it started with twelve believers, the disciples and that’s how it all began and then here we are.

Cynthia: If you could tour with any band, who would it be?

Justin: I'd like to tour with the Deftones. We all like the Deftones a lot.

Mark: Yeah, Deftones or Will Haven.

Cynthia: So what does the future hold for you guys?

Justin: Tour, tour, tour. We're gonna push this record a lot, see where God takes us with that.

Mark: We're gonna tour this summer, and if we come back alive and still like each other at the end of the summer, we're gonna go out in the fall and then the winter, and then gear up to go out again in the spring. We're just just gonna keep going because we want to push it as far as we can. We don't see any limits. We can push this as far as God will let us, but I think the sky's the limit.

Cynthia: Alright, any closing comments?

Mark: Our goal is to be an example of Christ. We like to be real and funny. We don't go to shows and preach at people. We are more focused on being people's friends and having a relationship to people and in that, they'll see Christ. And that's been really cool, because a lot of bands come up to me and say, "I don't believe what you believe"....they always tell me that...."but I really respect you" and they see something different in us and we're not telling them, they're seeing it. And thats our goal. Not to run around and throw bibles, but to have them see Christ in us.

Cynthia: Do you guys have a website?

Mark: Yeah, likedavid.com or bettyrocket.com.

Cynthia: Alright, thanks guys.

Guys: Thanks.

official Like David site
Betty Rocket Records